Paris catacombs vandalized, closed for repair

Paris’ catacombs, underground passages full of neatly stacked human bones, have been temporarily closed to the public after being vandalized.

A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office would not go into detail on the extent of the vandalism, which took place over the weekend, but said that the site would be closed because in its current state it was hazardous to visitors. According to the AP, a photo in a Paris newspaper showed “bones and skulls scattered along the walking paths”. There was no word on when the catacombs would reopen, but as they are a major tourist attraction visited by over 250,000 people each year, it seems that the city would do its best to clean the mess and repair any damage as soon as possible.

The catacombs open to the public are just one part of an 186-mile network underneath the city. The bones of over 6 million Parisians are contained here, having been moved to the site in the 18th and 19th centuries after the city’s cemeteries became overcrowded and contributed to the spread of disease.

San Francisco’s Bay Bridge closed over Labor Day weekend

I almost didn’t register it the first time I saw it.

The sign on the freeway said “Bay Bridge will be closed 9/3–8.”

I figured that they couldn’t really mean Labor Day weekend–a holiday weekend when everybody’s driving somewhere.

But it’s true.

Take note, visitors of San Francisco this Labor Day weekend: plan ahead to avoid the Bay Bridge!

The closure starts Thursday, September 3rd at 8:00 p.m. and ends by Tuesday, September 8th at 5:00 a.m.

If you’re driving, be sure to allow extra time to get around the bay and cross other bridges. You’ll want to check baybridgeinfo.org for closure details, and follow 511.org for traffic conditions, detour routes, and other transit options (ferries, BART, MUNI).

This is just the latest phase in the bridge’s construction–in the works since the 1989 earthquake forced either retrofitting or replacing the bridge’s eastern span. During this weekend’s closure, a 300-foot section of the old bridge will be rolled away and replaced with a new section that connects to a detour. Officials say they specifically chose this weekend for the closure because it’s typically light on traffic.

Mexican resort beach shut down, accused of stealing sand

Visitors to a Cancun beach found themselves restricted by yellow crime-scene tape yesterday, when Mexican police cordoned off the beach under accusations that the sand was stolen.

According to the AP release, after Hurricane Wilma washed away much of the resort area’s beach in 2005, Mexico spent $19 million replacing it with sand pumped from the sea floor. That sand has been slowly eroding, prompting some resorts to build breakwaters, which keep their beaches nice and sandy, but result in more sand loss for the surrounding beach areas.

The Mexican police are claiming that the resorts who’ve built these breakwaters are, in effect, stealing the beach from others. They’ve also detained five people they believe were using pumps to bring up more sand from the ocean floor. Mexico’s Attorney General for environmental protection said the beach at the Gran Caribe Real Hotel was made of “ill-gotten, illegally accumulated sand” and decided to shut it down.

Many tourists and hotel guests gathered around the “stolen” beach area and complained about the closure. There was no indication of when the beach would reopen and at the time of writing, the resort’s webcam was not active on its website.

Thailand closes internet cafes for two weeks

A heads up for all those traveling to Thailand in the next two weeks: the country’s public health minister, Witthaya Kaewparadai, announced plans to close tutorial schools and Internet cafes nationwide in a bid to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus.

The announcement was made following the death of a Phuket University student last week. Schools and internet cafes are asked to spend the two weeks carefully cleaning equipment to prevent the spread of infection.

The closure went into effect yesterday, July 13th and is scheduled to end on the 28th of July.

Thailand’s decision to close Internet cafes is believed to be a world first. So, if you know anyone traveling in the “Land of Smiles”, don’t be alarmed if they aren’t responding to your emails.